Marked
by ChelleyPamWriter
Summary: Bond Mates are rare and the few who have them rarely even find their other half. Usually, however, you at least want to be found.


Rey sat by Finn's bedside, wishing desperately that he would open his eyes. She'd never had someone willing to fight for her before. Willing to put themselves in danger for her before. He'd been ready to flee to the outer edges of the galaxy but he'd gone back into the belly of the beast for her.

Was this what having a friend was like?

Was this what having a family was like?

She felt the General's approach before the door to the medical ward even slid open. It was like a prickling along her skin. She had felt it the same thing with…

Rey pushed that thought from her mind and squared her shoulders, not turning to look even though she was aware that the General pulled up a seat beside her.

"The doctors say he should recover. The wound was bad, but his spine is intact. He'll need healing, but he should be able to walk again."

"I just want him to wake up."

"I know." Fingers brushed an errant lock of hair from her face. It was a tender and unfamiliar gesture to her. "Can I see it?"

Rey stilled, barely daring to breathe. Leia's hand came to rest were her shoulders and neck met, rubbing soft circles there. "Han mentioned the name to me, but it was the doctor who confirmed it. She told me about the mark after your physical. No one else knows."

She swallowed and lifted one hand to undo the cuff and wrappings on the wrist of her other arm. Once the skin was bare, the general reached out and cradled it in her hand, her thumb running softly over the mark.

"Did it always say this?"

"No. It used to say 'Ben Solo', but it changed a few years ago. I wasn't sure why." A bitter cough of a laugh escaped her. "I guess I know now."

She heard Leia sigh and the princess-turned-general pulled her into a warm hug. "Did he see it? Did he know it was you?"

"I don't think so. If he suspected, he didn't say anything. I doubt he's the kind of person who would care."

"Don't pin your hopes on that. I know my son. He never learned how to share and he has an unhealthy habit to covet. If he knew, you would have had a much harder time escaping."

The hug ended and the two women looked at one another. Leia's eyes were shining with unshed tears as she stroked Rey's face. "I looked for you. When I realized Ben was faltering, I looked for you, hoping that maybe if I could get your family to send you to live with us it might make a difference. Every family with the surname 'Solaris' I could find, I sought them out to see if they had a daughter named 'Rey'."

"Solaris? Is that my name?" Pity and pain flashed across Leia's face and Rey instantly regretted asking. She hated being pitied.

"It's a common name among space farers. 'Solaris' or some other word meaning 'light', 'sun' or 'star'. I used to tell Ben that his bond mark meant that somewhere out there was his own 'Rey of Light'. I hope I didn't leave him with an unreasonable sense of ownership. That wouldn't go well for you."

No, she supposed it wouldn't.

"Rey, I wanted to talk to you about Luke."

"The Jedi Master? You have the map."

"Yes, we do, but someone still has to go and find him. I think it should be you."

"Me? But why?"

"Because the Force is strong in you, Rey. I only had the most rudimentary of training and I can feel it. You burn as brightly as my son, but he has a lifetime of training on his side. Luke can help you with that. If nothing else, he should be able to teach you how to protect yourself from him if he figures out who you are."

Rey looked down at the mark on her wrist. "I'd heard whispers. Even on Jakku we heard whispers. Nothing I ever heard about Kylo Ren was glowing or happy. I think that's why I kept it to myself." She drew in a breath. "When it still said 'Ben Solo', I used to imagine that he was related to the famous smuggler. I wanted to ask Han about it when I met him, but I was afraid. I didn't want him to ask to see it and see that it had changed." She shrugged. "And who knew my silly little daydream was right?"

"All the more reason for you to be the one to go to Luke and bring him back. You need to learn how to control what's in you, Rey, even if all you ever do is use that knowledge to hide. He may not have noticed the mark, but he had to have felt your power. He'll be looking for you. You're best chance at remaining free is with Luke."

Rey looked back at Finn, silent and unmoving, and nodded. She would go. She would find Luke Skywalker and bring him back to his sister.

Her fingers shook as she rewrapped her wrist, hiding the beautiful script that spelled out 'Kylo Ren' against the honeyed tan of her skin.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ren stilled his thoughts as the droid inspected and redressed the wound on his side. The bowcaster Chewbacca favored had a stronger impact that the blasters and pulse rifles issued to most of the Storm Troopers. By rights his lapse in attention should have been his death, but perhaps the Wookie was still clouded by feelings for a child he once knew.

If he hadn't been bleeding out, he wouldn't have failed to secure the girl. That, and he should not have wasted time toying with the traitor. His arrogance cost him that prize. He would not make the same mistake again.

He still thought of her, but he couldn't summon any hate or anger towards her directly, just anger at his own mistakes. He remembered how brightly she shone with the Force. A raging fire, raw and glorious.

And completely untrained. She had figured out how to manipulate the mind of a Storm Trooper using instincts alone. When he'd been in her mind, he'd found nothing to indicate that she knew anything about the potential she held prior to the day he'd found her. Now that she was awakening, she would only grow stronger. She was alone and without guidance. And crippled by a misguided sense of kindness and compassion. The first time her anger resulted in the injury or death of another, it would devastate her. She would be horrified, terrified of her own strength and desperate for someone to show her how to reign herself in.

Perfectly malleable.

His master had told him once that an artist needed exceptional materials to create a masterpiece. Kylo Ren was his master's masterpiece. The girl, Rey, could be his.

Rey.

Ren knocked the droid away and tore the glove from his right hand, jerking the sleeve of his shirt up to bare his wrist. It had been so long since he'd bothered to think of it, putting it out of mind to concentrate on his training. But the words were still there, black and lovely against his pale skin as though penned by a master calligrapher.

Rey Solaris.

Could it be? Could he have had her right there and failed to notice? If she was his bond mate, she had said nothing to that effect. Either she was just some random girl named 'Rey' or she… could her mark still say 'Ben Solo'?

Or perhaps she had been too put off by her treatment. He had been as gentle as he could, having felt some measure of compassion for her that he hadn't fully understood, but he had been intent on getting the information out of her.

"It is her." He knew it, even without saying it aloud. That was why he had felt compassion towards her. It wasn't a lure towards the light side of the Force that radiated from her. It was because she was his. She had been since the day of her birth.

He looked back down at his wrist, a gloved thumb rubbing over her name. Any feeling of shame or embarrassment at having lost to her in combat dissolving. She was awakened now, her Force signature bright and warm and familiar to him. He had stumbled upon her the first time, but now that he'd seen and felt her she would be all the more easier to find again.


End file.
